Richard Heckmann

Sports equipment maker K2 Inc. said Friday that Chief Executive Richard M. Rodstein resigned and is being replaced by Chairman Richard J. Heckmann. Heckmann, 58, was founder and chief executive of U.S. Filter, the nation's largest water-treatment company before it was acquired by Vivendi for $6.2 billion in 1999. He joined K2's board that same year and became chairman in April 2000.

Richard Heckmann has no problem leaving others behind. Once on an East Coast business trip, the then-chairman of USFilter wanted to hurry back to California to make his son's baseball game. When the water company's executives gathered at the airport for the flight home, one manager was missing. Heckmann ordered the private aircraft to take off without him.

Richard Heckmann has no problem leaving others behind. Once on an East Coast business trip, the then-chairman of USFilter wanted to hurry back to California to make his son's baseball game. When the water company's executives gathered at the airport for the flight home, one manager was missing. Heckmann ordered the private aircraft to take off without him.

Sports equipment maker K2 Inc. said Friday that Chief Executive Richard M. Rodstein resigned and is being replaced by Chairman Richard J. Heckmann. Heckmann, 58, was founder and chief executive of U.S. Filter, the nation's largest water-treatment company before it was acquired by Vivendi for $6.2 billion in 1999. He joined K2's board that same year and became chairman in April 2000.

Burbank-based cremation services firm Neptune Society has named Marco Markin president and chief executive. He also was elected to the board. Markin had been serving as the president of the company's operating subsidiary, Neptune Management Corp., since May, when the company went public. * Private risk management consultant and insurance broker Willis has named John Genovese president and chief executive of its Los Angeles office. He was promoted from executive vice president.

Sporting goods maker K2 Inc. said Monday that it bought closely held WinterQuest for an undisclosed amount of cash, K2 common stock and debt. The transaction was the Carlsbad, Calif.-based company's fifth acquisition this year. WinterQuest, which produces snowshoes under the Tubbs and Atlas brands, had sales of $18.6 million in the fiscal year ended March 31, K2 said. K2 has bought several sporting-goods companies this year as part of its plan to expand and diversify its product lines.

U.S. Filter Corp. on Monday said it acquired about 50,000 acres of land and water rights in California and the Southwest from companies owned by the Bass family for about $250.5 million in stock and warrants to purchase 1.2 million more U.S. Filter shares. The transaction will allow the Palm Desert-based provider of equipment and systems for treating water and waste water to broaden its agricultural services.

U.S. Filter Corp., the world's leading water and waste-water treatment company, on Sunday was negotiating a deal to be acquired by Vivendi, a leading French industrial group, sources said. Officials at U.S. Filter did not return phone calls seeking comment. Sources said a deal could be announced as early as today. On Wednesday, shares of U.S. Filter rose 20% to close at $29.94 a share in a flurry of trading on rumors that the company was a takeover candidate.

Former Vice President Dan Quayle and ex-Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz are joining with the chief executive of K2 Inc. in a bid to raise as much as $500 million in the second-largest initial public offering of a "blank check" shell company. Palm Desert-based Heckmann Corp., which has no operations, plans to sell 62.5 million units for $8 each, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday.

Sporting goods manufacturer K2 Inc. said Thursday that it intends to buy privately held ball and bat maker Worth Inc., a deal that would make the Carlsbad, Calif.-based company one of the top U.S. producers of baseball and softball equipment. In March, K2 added Rawlings Sporting Goods to its roster of brands, which include Shakespeare fishing rods, Olin skis, Ride snowboards and Stearns water sports gear. On the New York Stock Exchange, K2 shares rose 61 cents to $16.50, a 52-week high.

A dissident shareholder of Rawlings Sporting Goods Co. has cleared the basepaths for K2 Inc.'s takeover of the venerable baseball equipment maker. Daniel Gilbert, who owns about 15% of Rawlings, said Thursday that he would support the proposed merger with K2, the Los Angeles-based maker of Olin skis, Shakespeare fishing gear and other sporting goods. Gilbert had objected to the $84-million all-stock transaction when it was announced in December, and made a $69-million cash offer for Fenton, Mo.

Major League Baseball and K2 Inc. have reached a licensing agreement that paves the way for the Los Angeles ski and fishing gear company to acquire the century-old Rawlings Sporting Goods Co. this week. Rawlings has the exclusive right to manufacture and market the baseballs used in the top professional league. The contract came up for review when K2 agreed in December to buy the Fenton, Mo.-based baseball equipment company.